Two Horses Euthanized at Humboldt County Fair, 2024 One of the Deadliest Years on Record
Stock photo of horse racing. [Horse Racing Foto by Softeis via Wikicommons. CC BY-SA 3.0]
The 2024 Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale turned tragic as two horses were euthanized after suffering injuries during races, marking one of the deadliest years on record for horse racing at the event. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has described these deaths as preventable, highlighting concerns over horse safety statewide.
The fair, which ran from August 21 to September 8, featured eight days of equine events, including approximately 60 races and over 300 starts—a term used in horse racing to denote each individual race a horse begins. However, for two horses, these starts would be their last.
Fatal Injuries
On opening day, six-year-old mare Arctic Fire was euthanized after breaking her ankle during a race. A second horse, 12-year-old quarter horse Visual Display, was euthanized on September 4 following his second race. Visual Display’s death marked the 55th horse fatality reported in California during the 2024 racing season.
Moira Kenny, Chief Executive Officer of the Humboldt County Fair, confirmed via email to KMUD News that both horses sustained musculoskeletal injuries during their races. State veterinarians determined that the prognosis in each case warranted euthanasia. According to the CHRB, fatalities like these, while tragic, are not new. Since 1994, there have been 24 horse deaths at the Ferndale fair, though these incidents have been sporadic, with some years seeing no fatalities at all.
Horse Fatalities on the Rise
The deaths at the Humboldt County Fair are part of a worrying trend. Data from the Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database, which tracks racehorse fatalities across North America, reveals that Ferndale’s track has a fatality rate significantly higher than the national average. The CHRB reports that Ferndale’s fatality rate is approximately 5.5% higher than other tracks, a figure that has drawn the board’s scrutiny and led to an ongoing investigation.
Mike Martin, a spokesperson for the CHRB, said the board is actively working to address these fatalities and has already introduced measures aimed at improving horse safety. Over the last five years, the CHRB has increased its focus on reducing equine deaths, leading to a 55% reduction in fatalities statewide.
“Even with these efforts, we know two deaths at Ferndale are too many,” said Martin. “We are constantly reviewing each case to see how we can prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Racing Culture Under Scrutiny
The death of Visual Display, who was 12 years old at the time of his final race, has spurred calls for new regulations. The CHRB is now considering a rule to limit the age of horses eligible to race at county fairs. Martin said it’s likely the age limit will be set between eight and ten years, far younger than Visual Display, whose injuries highlighted the risk of allowing older horses to race.
“We learn by experience, and then we deal with the problems we identify,” Martin stated. “It’s clear that older horses like Visual Display shouldn’t be running. We’re committed to reducing fatalities, but there’s always more to do.”
Criticism from Animal Rights Advocates
Despite the CHRB’s efforts, animal rights organizations remain skeptical. Martha Sullivan, co-organizer of the advocacy group Kill Racing, Not Horses, is among the critics. Sullivan points to the fact that Visual Display hadn’t raced in seven years before being entered into races this summer, alleging that smaller field sizes at the Ferndale races likely pressured organizers to use any available horses.
“These horses are paying the price for a dying industry,” Sullivan said. “No legitimate sport would tolerate the death of two athletes in just two weeks at a single venue.”
Sullivan’s group was the first to publicly announce the deaths of Arctic Fire and Visual Display. She argues that economic considerations often drive decisions regarding the care of injured horses.
“If a horse is injured, the owner weighs the cost of treatment versus the economic benefits,” Sullivan said. “Too often, it’s cheaper to euthanize.”
Track Conditions and Weather Concerns
The weather may also have played a role in this year’s horse fatalities. On August 23, the first day of racing, the National Weather Service in Eureka recorded an unusually high 1.19 inches of rainfall, setting a record for that time of year. According to Dr. Mick Peterson, co-author of The Equine Surfaces White Paper, an expert on race surfaces, horses are more likely to sustain injuries on inconsistent or wet tracks.
Economic Pressures on Racing
The 2024 Humboldt County Fair marked the first time in over a decade that it was the only horse racing event in Northern California. The closure of Golden Gate Fields in the Bay Area after 87 years left Ferndale with sole possession of the racing spotlight in the region. This year’s fair featured one of the most ambitious purse schedules in its history, including the $50,000 CJ Hindley Humboldt County Marathon Handicap on the final weekend.
Sullivan and other activists believe this added economic pressure contributes to an unsafe racing environment for horses. “People are no longer interested in gambling at the expense of horses’ lives,” she said.
While organizations like Kill Racing, Not Horses, are happy to see the closure of a major racetrack, Dr. Gregory Ferraro DVM, the chair of the California Horse Racing Board, fears that it could have a ripple effect, stating that revenues from that track were used to support important industry programs, including the Horse Racing and Safety Act, which aims to protect the equine athletes.
Looking Ahead
With six deaths reported at California county fairgrounds within the last two months, including four at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, the CHRB is expected to announce new regulations at their next meeting on September 19. The board is likely to address concerns about the safety of racing at smaller county fairs, which have fewer regulations than commercial racetracks.
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I lived in Spain in the years leading up to the attempted banning of bullfights. It was a sensitive subject with Spaniards as they didn’t like foreigners weighing in, yet they all had opinions, mostly negative toward the sport. There were activists mobilizing against it, with graffiti common. The roots of horse racing are nowhere as deep as bullfighting in Spain; I doubt horse racing will be banned. I wonder if dogracing is still a thing in the US.
Uhh last I knew dog fighting is still allowed in Montana.
Hey mister! We don’t appreciate that kind of worldly Insight around here. Please stay in our lane. We want to talk about criminals being released prematurely and guns, I can’t remember which guns but we like to speculate about guns from the photos and Spain is not part of that. Oh wait a minute I just remembered something else, people coming over the border illegally! Plenty of things to talk about here there are at least two, so please join the conversation but don’t think you’re so special just because you know something we don’t know. We’re perfectly happy not knowing things.
I always thought pig racing was entertaining, probably much safer, too. Maybe there should be a switch to that having top billing … soo-ee!
Maybe people ought to race themselves if they find it so necessary?
They do, it is called Track and Field. It has been around since the early Roman Empire and is practiced by many cultures and nations.
The participants are referred to as athletes and the big difference between athletes and horses, is the athletes are not euthanized for a broken leg.
Maybe carry the horse around the track and shot em if they break anything. I would go watch that.
This is just another cruel equestrian sport. I lived in a race barn and the daily extremes of mistreatment of VERY YOUNG horses is criminal. ALL human endeavors using horses have gotten to be abuse. I used to show and became really disturbed at the uber competitive humans and the sad state of their overworked, overtrained, super scared horses. Bah. Boycott.
I have an old tour friend who raises horses. She uses them for severely abused children. Turns out some children who went through hell are understandably closed off to other humans. But they can make progress out of their shell by meeting animals, in this case horses. It’s therapy and it’s a beautiful thing that some humans and some horses can do together…Blessed be the beasts…
Horse meat is delicious.
Go ahead, pretend you have taste.
For horsemeat.
Saw it on a menu in Paris. AND torturing animals is unnecessary and a sh!tty way to treat them and an ungrateful way even if ultimately they will be food. Racing is for nothing other than entertaining humans who could get off their arses and do something more constructive.
I don’t necessarily like it.
When it’s from horses that have been administered performance-enhancing drugs their entire lives, not a good idea to eat it.
I was surprised at the taste of cow intestines. I put it in my mouth thinking it was a mushroom and wouldn’t have known that it wasn’t if the people I was withhad not told me.
What’s an owner/ trainer thinking of running 12 yo horse? Certainly no concern for wellbeing of horse but I’m sure the Fair pays them each time a horse leaves the gate, even if the horse struggles to get to the finish, crowd wouldn’t come for three contender races
yep that’s along shot. I would rather a 12 yr. old be a pasture buddy or brood mare
I thought the same thing.
Horses are such an invasive,destructive animal ,not sure why they are allowed to exist. Ever since I switch from Ole silver to tacoma my life’s been much easier.
Nevada has huge horse issues
horse genocide? What an idiot. The horse has served man for thousands of years. In France, they found a horses skeleton that had a hemp halter on, 15,000 years old.
Was it low thc hemp because Newsom wants to ban the higher thc hemp.
I feel similar with free range cattle.
Mrs. Sullivan since your focus is on California, you should stop by the Christie ranch, that’ll keep you busy for a while.
Abuse of dogs, cats, birds and other domestic pets are far more numerous.
Only because those are more numerous and easily hid. AND horses forced to ras ce like this is paid for pubicly supported abuse for no reason other than to entertain someone sitting on their fat arse..not even abuse of animals at least intended to be food not just entertainment for the afternoon. Another reason our species isn’t looking like it is going to survive much longer…the way we treat the rest of the World for our own trite desires.
Well duh… but it’s likely that survival is imperiled by the anti-Flynn effect and it’s voluminous outcry.
Should horse racing be prohibited? Should any sport involving horses be eliminated? That is the real bottom line in this article because injuries will never be eliminated. The trouble with horses is their mass makes it very hard to treat a lot of injuries while it also makes them prone to injuries. If they can’t stand on their own or if they stress their other limbs by unloading one leg, it easily leads to fatal complications. That they are also very expensive to maintain even when healthy means that, unless recovery to soundness is likely, they will be euthanized.
I don’t know the answer but I do know that if injures when under human control is the sole criteria, then domestic horses are going to become extinct. Keeping them in fencing can lead to death. Keeping them without fencing can lead to death. Keeping them inside, outside or moving them back and forth can also.
Wild horses in CA & NV breed so successfully and survive so well they become a problem for ranchers. They interfere with human economics.
And the point is? That confuses the fact that a mare can produce a foal each year starting at 2 or 3 for 17 years, more or less, with whatever point about the durability of domestic horses you mean to make. Even if there is a fifty percent death rate of those foals, it doesn’t take long for horses to fill their environment to overflowing.
That may be because they aren’t interbred like race horses. Today’s thoroughbreds stem from just three stallions–the Byerly Turk, the Godolphin Arab, and the Darley Barb.
The only interference feral horses have on human business endeavors is that they compete for public grazing land of ranchers who refuse to pay for the resource they consume. As far as I am concerned ranchers like the Bundys are stealing resources from every U.S. American and then selling the product of their criminal enterprise to you. In fact I encourage the hunting of cattle on any federal land that the rancher refuses to pay to lease.
Humboldt has another stat saying we are some significant percentage worse than everywhere else. Yay
We could maybe try a hair harder. Trinity county is doing a bit worse, in atleast the education dept hayfork high school was 30 percent below california average for awhile.i found out 7th grade moving to a different state that we are lacking in education. They were doing algebra 2 in 7th grade. We hadn’t even started algebra in humboldt
So how much does the fair rake in from the races? If the fair is making good money from racing, you can bet the welfare of the horse isn’t even a real consideration.
Right. Nothing more important than sitting on one’s fat ass for a couple hours watching other animals being worked to dealth; hot commodity for an unhealthy species (we humans).
Well, the BOS thinks it’s worth at least $1million.
Thank you for bringing attention to this topic!
I personally don’t support the horse races anymore but can relate to the allure. Witnessing an injured horse who you know is now being euthanized behind the tarps of shame is traumatic as a spectator. Horse fatalities is the dark underbelly to a otherwise entertaining sport, that not unlike the Iditarod, allows us to see animal’s majestic strength and drive on display. Oh and there’s the gambling Factor…..
Yabut stated some clear facts that make the risks and sometimes dire outcomes for horses a reality. Skinny ankles on an animal of extreme mass!! And horses are unbelievably expensive to care for– when healthy ! Owners aren’t met with many options when a horse is critically lame.
When considering injuries or deaths that happen to the dogs running in the Iditarod, there you have a field of sometimes over 1,000 dogs and a race running over the period of 7-10 days , so statistically some dogs out of a lot of a thousand might die in that period of time anyway racing or not.
Same with horses. A certain number will injure themselves and have to be euthanized just being stupid or encountering a hazard in the paddock on any given day. ?♀️
So is it fair to place bets on hoping that they not only don’t crash and burn on that day, but finish well enough to benefit the gambling spectator? ? Morally no.. but manKIND isn’t, very.
Race horses love to run. Banning horse racing will effectively doom thousands of horses to death. They aren’t suitable for ranch life.
I love horses and I understand the fascination and romance of horse racing, but the fact is that because of breeding for speed, thoroughbreds have become fragile, unhealthy specimens of their species, with the use of performance enhancing drugs making them even worse.
The problem is that they race then when they are young and not fully developed…
Annual costs for a horse range from $9,000-$12,,000.
With all the advancements in modern veterinary medicine, fractures are no longer death sentences for horses. Veterinarians can repair and rehab many limb fractures, and the horse might even be able to return to work.
Seems like horse racers don’t really care about their animal the same as dog or cat owners.
Is chariot racing still allowed? That would be entertaining.
Harness racing might be your thing.
Evolve.
When a horse breaks its legs there is no way to heal them. It’s totally humane to euthanize in this case, so what is the issue? You can’t explain to a horse that it must not use his broken leg for two weeks. Is it just that it’s sad? Well, yes it is but it’s humane and that’s how life on the farm goes.
From what I gather, both horses were too old to race, and no one is saying whether the track was properly treated after 1″ of rain; both factors under human control, and both disregarded, presumably in the pursuit of profit.
Say what people will say what they may. Will 100% vouch for horse owners they spend tons and tons of money on their horses. Sure there’s a few that don’t have a lot of money to spend so they cut corners or take risks. Somebody running a standard barn 12 horses having to pay grooms, exercise Riders, stall fees, vet bills, feed bills, farrier bills ETC it’s quite a heafty investment. The older horse hey they LOVE TO RUN…JOHN HENRY, BLACK RUBY THE MULE. Still race the pasture fences long after they are retired. BLACK RUBY DAY SHE GOT EXCITED AND JIGGY JOGGED DOWN THE TRACK. Relationships between humans and other mammals are as old as the eons. The patience, passion, perseverance and partnerships required to be part of or to run a successful racing barn are beyond measure. There are bad apples but few and far between.
And there off!!!
Any “sports” involving animals in races or rodeos are cruel to said animals… many laugh it off, most don’t care…for the rest of us we can boycott and hope that one day cruelty will become rarer, that the phony cowboys and little jockeys and the corrupt and complacent vets can find something less inhumane to to do to fill whatever void they need filling…until then, we’ll mourn these magnificent creature who didn’t ask to race, to be killed for the entertainment of fair goers..
Another HUMAN CONTROLLED ACTIVITY.
Now they want more regulation, banning of the “sport”, and closure of the race track… All because the cheapest way out is to kill the horse….
This has a lot of similarities to gun control debate. Ban the gun, ban the gun because this is another HUMAN CONTROLLED ACTIVITY. It is cheaper to ban the gun than fix the HUMAN CONTROLLED stupidity and mental illness to help stop senseless killing. Those who use both horse racing and firearms are blamed for that bad actions of the few bad actors who do the killing. So let’s just shut down all firearms and horse racing because it is the gun and the horses fault when neither of them were asked if they wanted to participate in another HUMAN CONTROLLED ACTIVITY…..
SO, I do believe that we humans need to fix our selves and leave the guns and horses out of the equation. They are both beautiful, peaceful and objectively used to bring entertainment, sport, and freedom from everyday endevors.
But the HUMAN is always first to blame the object due OUR failings for our self control.
Everything has a cost and if your not willing to accept the totality of that cost do not get into horses, racing and or firearms. Drinking and driving, politics, war, reality TV just to name a few more. Because bad thing can and do happen due to our actions . Yet it is always easier to blame others before we look at what WE DID.